Thorianite
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Thorianite is a rare mineral, discovered by W. D. Holland, and found in the gem-gravels of Sri Lanka, where it occurs as small, heavy, black, cubic crystals, usually much water-worn. It was so named by W. R. Dunstan, on account of its high percentage of thorium (about 70% ThO2); it also contains the oxides of uranium, lanthanum, cerium and didymium. Helium is present, and the mineral is slightly less radioactive than pitchblende.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
It is an unknown fact that the Sri lankan born Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy discovered thorianite in 1904.It was characteristic of Coomaraswamy’s self-effacement that he called the new mineral "thorianite" instead of linking with his own name.
